Require Presidential Leadership and No Deficit Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. JENKINS. I thank the gentleman from Georgia for yielding me this time.

Today, there are still more than 12 million Americans unemployed. Parents are taking home lower wages to support their children, and families are paying more for everything from gas to groceries. For these Americans, the recession never ended.

If government spending was the key to economic growth and job creation, the economy would be booming right now. But instead, last week we found out things are getting worse. We all know the problem. For 4 years we racked up trillion-dollar deficits year after year, adding another trillion to the national debt. It's not a partisan issue. We all agree we need to fix it.

Serious problems call for serious discussions, and serious discussions require everyone to put their plan on the table. We took a solid step last week by requiring the Senate to pass a budget for the first time in 4 years, but we must continue moving forward by requiring not just a budget but a plan that actually fixes the problem.

We need to pass the Require a PLAN Act so the House, Senate, and even the White House are all forced to step away from campaign rhetoric and short-term gimmicks. Unlike the President's previous budget proposals, the PLAN Act will require the President to finally tell the American people when and how his budget will achieve balance.

It's time to get serious. Americans deserve better than gimmicks and campaign rhetoric; they deserve a plan.

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